


You Light Up My World (like nobody else)

by LilacBrown889



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, because all of my fics have to have pining apparently, don't read without dental insurance, literal tooth rotting, veelafic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacBrown889/pseuds/LilacBrown889
Summary: Jung Sungchan's To-DO List:* pine after Taro in courtyard* pine after Taro in classroom* pine after Taro in room* figure out why Taro has wings????(Title from song: "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Jung Sungchan/Osaki Shotaro, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 17
Kudos: 77





	1. pines over taro in the courtyard

**Author's Note:**

> Wassup its ya boi starting another fic instead of finishing My Heart In Your Hands, surprise~~
> 
> I couldn't get this idea outta my head so,,,, here y'all go. The sungtaro tag is dry af and i have like another idea for another sungtaro fic so lmk if u wanna see that one. 
> 
> Check out my voldemort/thomas the tank engine fic

Sungchan doesn’t really know what to make of Shotaro. 

The boy is Ravenclaw but looks more like a Hufflepuff, all rounded cheeks and curved eye-smiles. His smile is so bright that it overtakes his entire face when he smiles, lighting up his whole countenance with happiness. It’s infectious. 

Sungchan, on the other hand, feels dim compared to this bright boy. He’s the tallest in their year, and taller than a lot of the years above them as well. As such, people often mistake him for an older student. Still, that seems to be the only thing people notice about him.  _ You’re so tall,  _ they say. 

Sungchan doesn’t mind being tall usually, but it makes people tend to avoid standing too close to him.  _ If I stand right next to you, I’ll look even more like a midget,  _ says Haechan, a Gryffindor in the year above them. He’s a 00 line like Shotaro, but Shotaro is in Sungchan’s year because he spent extra learning Korean, a fact which Sungchan is eternally grateful for, ever since he boarded the Hogwarts Express in Second Year preparing for another awkward train ride in an empty compartment and instead stumbled upon an already-smiling Shotaro, introducing himself in slightly stilted Korean. 

Sungchan isn’t  _ lonely, _ necessarily, no matter what his mum might think. It’s just, he doesn’t really have any same-age friends, and he always feels like he’s keeping Shotaro from his destined friend group: the 00-line, who snatch up the bright boy whenever they remember and have the time. They’re a loud group, and even though they probably aren’t trying to, Sungchan often feels dim next to them. They all have their own unique light and in comparison, Sungchan always sort of feels like a looming shadow, never quite sure what to do with himself. 

Perhaps that’s why he still wonders why Shotaro always returns to his side when he could be spending all his time with the bright 00-line. 

He hadn’t expected the boy to stick around, but that first night in Second Year Shotaro turns out to be his roommate in the Ravenclaw dorms, and Sungchan offers to show him around the castle. For the past 3 years, Sungchan has been waiting for the other shoe to drop and Shotaro to drift away from him, but no matter what happens he always returns to Sungchan’s side. He wonders if Shotaro does it consciously, perhaps out of pity for Sungchan, knowing how few close friends Sungchan has had. 

Shotaro is currently over with Haechan and Renjun, another 00-liner. As Sungchan watches, Shotaro laughs brightly as Renjun grabs Haechan and puts him in a headlock. Haechan’s shrieks grow louder, and soon Mark sighs from next to Sungchan, putting down his Potions homework with practised resignation. Mark is a 99-liner, the oldest of their little group although not of the wider one. 

Sungchan watches fondly as Mark walks over to rescue his boyfriend. They don’t act like it much, but Sungchan knows the Gryffindor has a soft spot a mile wide for Haechan. 

Sungchan met them in his Second Year along with the rest of the Hogwarts Asian Students Association, which Shotaro had dragged him to in a quest to befriend his Yuta-senpai, the only other Japanese student at Hogwarts. It’s a fairly large group of people, all of whom seem to have known each other forever. They’re spread out across the years, and there are more of them who’ve since graduated, although Sungchan knows the older members still keep in touch. 

He and Shotaro are the newest additions, although surprisingly not the youngest. That title goes to Jisung, who is currently lying next to Sungchan with his head in Jaemin’s (yet another 00-liner, Merlin they were everywhere) lap. 

“Sungchannie!” 

Sungchan looks up in surprise. Apparently, while he had been distracted, Shotaro has made his way over to their group sitting out in the courtyard, all working on various homework. Behind him, Mark is hovering around Renjun and Haechan, probably trying to work out how best to extract his boyfriend. Shotaro leans against the wall Sungchan is sitting on, and looks up at him. Sungchan’s heart stops beating.

The thing about Shotaro is he’s so small, especially compared to Sungchan. He’s always looking up at him with those big puppy eyes. When they hug, he curls into Sungchan’s side perfectly, head resting just below his chin. At this point, Sungchan is pretty sure he’d do anything for the older boy. 

“Hi, Taro-hyung. How are things going?” 

Shotaro beams up at him. “Renjun and Haechan are fighting again. I think Renjun will actually strangle Haechan one of these days.”

They both turn to look at the group across the courtyard. Mark has taken hold of Haechan by the waist and is physically dragging him away from Renjun. They notice the two looking over at them, and Haechan waves happily. By Renjun’s side, Jeno (another 00-liner because their friend group has an infestation) appears, taking him by the arm and pulling him over to where Jaemin is still playing with Jisung’s hair. 

“That little brat, I swear I’m going to kill him.” Renjun turns, arm still trapped in Jeno’s hold, and yells over to Haechan. “Your boyfriend can’t protect you forever!” 

Haechan responds by sticking his tongue out and making a face, and Shotaro laughs happily. Sungchan can feel his body shaking, and as he watches the older boy laugh he can feel an answering smile light up his own face. He probably looks like a lovesick idiot. 

He turns away quickly when Shotaro moves to push himself off of the wall and pretends to be studying the way Jaemin’s fingers run through Jisung’s hair. Jaemin wiggles his eyebrows at Sungchan, obviously having noticed his staring at Shotaro, and Sungchan can feel his face flush. 

The rest of their friend group is very well-acquainted with Sungchan’s pining, and many of them have tried to convince him to confess. He’s gotten used to nodding along before ultimately not changing anything. He’s weighed the risk factor against the small chance Shotaro might like him back and decides every time that it just isn’t worth it. What would he do if Shotaro didn’t want to be friends anymore? He hadn’t minded being on his own First Year when he didn’t know what he was missing, but now being alone all the time would feel so terribly dark and lonely in contrast to the brightness that usually fills his days now. 


	2. pines over taro in potions

The next day does not start out well. Sungchan forgets his textbooks in their shared room and has to practically force Shotaro to stay at the breakfast table while he runs through the castle up to their tower. Breathless and chest burning, Sungchan slides into his seat next to Shotaro just as Professor Malfoy waltzes through the door, floating a cauldron full of something that smells like literal death in front of him. 

“Good morning class, guess what we’re doing today!” He plops the cauldron onto his desk, grinning gleefully as the classroom is filled with groans of disgust. 

Sungchan tries to resist the urge to bang his head onto the table. Next to him, Shotaro looks mostly unbothered. The only sign of any reaction he gives to the awful smell quickly spreading throughout the room is a slight wrinkle of his nose. Sungchan can only stare fondly. 

He doesn’t want it to sound like his crush is shallow or anything, but Shotaro is genuinely the most beautiful person he has ever seen. He reminds Sungchan of the bunnies that used to hop through his grandmother’s yard in the summer. He had tried to hug the fluffy creatures many times as a child, but they always hopped away before he could touch their soft fur. That’s where Shotaro differs from them: Sungchan doesn’t have to chase after him. He always seems to know exactly when Sungchan needs him.

Shotaro steps in front of Sungchan to peer into the cauldron in front of them, and Sungchan can’t resist leaning forward to rest his chin on top of the older’s head for just a second. The soft hair tickles his face as he pulls away quickly and he can feel himself blushing. Surely Shotaro will think he’s weird for this, might even suspect Sungchan has a crush on him. He knows he isn’t subtle by a large margin, and Shotaro wasn’t Sorted Ravenclaw for nothing. He braces himself, scrambling to come up with some sort of excuse or explanation.

Shotaro turns around, looking up at him with a puzzled expression. As Sungchan stares down at him, waiting for some sort of condemnation, the corner of his mind that never stops being whipped for Shotaro informs him that the boy looks exactly like a Samoyed puppy. Shotaro tilts his head to the side, studying Sungchan’s face, before his own expression melts into a much fonder one. 

Sungchan holds his breath as Shotaro leans forward and wraps his arms around the younger, holding his waist gently as he settles into Sungchan’s chest. He feels himself wrap his own arms around Shotaro as if in a dream. The boy’s hair is soft against his face and he smells sweet, like vanilla and sugar cookies. 

Shotaro takes a step back and beams up at Sungchan. “Come on, Sungchannie. We have to do the potion now. I’ll go get the supplies.”

As Shotaro leaves to go to the supply cabinet, Sungchan mentally gives himself a shake. The ambient background noise of the busy Potions classroom slowly filters back into his awareness, and he realizes his cheeks are burning. He takes a deep breath and immediately regrets it. The stench of whatever potion they’re brewing today fills his lungs and he coughs, chest burning. The force of his coughing makes him crouch down on the floor, and he tries to breathe without inhaling more of the foul odour.

Shotaro chooses that exact moment to reappear, hovering over his hunched figure with concern. He dumps the stuff he’s carrying onto their lab table and then turns to Sungchan.

“Sungchan, what happened? Are you alright?” He places a comforting hand on Sungchan’s back as the younger boy continues coughing.

The noise grabs the attention of Professor Malfoy, who comes over. “Jung, I told you this would happen,” he tuts. With a wave of his wand, he casts a Bubble-Air charm over Sungchan’s head. “Next time, pay attention to the board. Now get going on your potion, you still have most of the period left.” Professor Malfoy’s robes swish out of view before Sungchan can manage to choke out a ‘thank you’. 

Sungchan takes a few deep, gasping breaths. His chest already feels lighter, breathing in the fresh, filtered air of the charm instead of the polluted air of the classroom. Next to him, Shotaro crouches next to him and tilts his head, peering into his eyes. 

“Are you okay, Sungchannie?” He looks like a puppy again. Sungchan has the overwhelming urge to reach out and pat his head. He restrains himself, reminding himself that this is a classroom, and they have work to do, and besides all of that, it would just be really weird. He opts instead to just sit there staring at Shotaro, which on second thought is probably not less weird. 

Belatedly, Sungchan nods his head in answer to Shotaro’s question. This earns him another smile, and Shotaro reaches out and pats his head fondly. Sungchan blinks in surprise, but before he can process that Shotaro is already standing up and offering him a hand. He takes it dazedly, and they go back to their potion. 

45 minutes later, their potion is almost done. Professor Malfoy is walking around checking other people’s potions. Theirs isn’t quite at that stage yet seeing as they got a late start. 

Sungchan watches Shotaro carefully stir their potion 30 times counterclockwise. It’s the last step of the recipe, so Sungchan doesn’t have anything else to do. He should probably get started on cleaning up their work area, but it’s almost as if he’s glued to the lab stool, leaning against the table and watching Shotaro.

He mouths each number in Japanese, hand firmly grasping his wand. Shotaro does that often, counting in Japanese when he needs to concentrate on something. He used to speak more Japanese when Sungchan first met him, back when he had only been learning English for a year. Sungchan still loves hearing him talk in his native tongue though. He sounds so different, so confident. The syllables roll off of his tongue quickly, especially when he’s talking with his Yuta-senpai. Sungchan is mesmerized. 

“There! Finished!” Shotaro announces, startling Sungchan out of his reverie. He carefully withdraws his wand from the potion and wipes it off on a cleaning cloth. 

Sungchan leans forward out of his chair and looks at their potion. It’s bubbling slowly and appears viscous. It’s a tad lighter in colour than the example that Professor Malfoy brewed but other than that it looks perfect. Sungchan turns to give Shotaro a thumbs up, and the older boy’s eyes crinkle in that signature eye smile. Sungchan feels butterflies start to flutter in his stomach and he returns the smile as best he can. 

Suddenly, Shotaro seems to lose his balance. Perhaps his foot slipped off of the bar on the stool or something. Regardless of the reason, he’s now pitching forward off of his stool, and Sungchan lunges forward to try to catch him. 

Sungchan manages to grab Shotaro’s arm and haul him back upright into a sitting position. His heart thuds loudly in his chest as adrenaline rushes through his system. 

“Taro-hyung? Are you alright? What happened?”

Shotaro smiles sheepishly, adjusting his position and grabbing the edge of the table for stability. “I don’t know. Thanks for catching me, Sungchannie.” He lays a hand on top of Sungchans, which is still grasping his arm. 

Sungchan blinks in surprise, withdrawing his hand quickly and staring at Shotaro’s hand. It’s so small compared to Sungchan’s, and wow he really is going insane isn’t he. Shotaro is distracted by Professor Malfoy, who has come over to check on their potion, and Sungchan can’t move for some reason. His eyes are glued to Shotaro’s hand as he waves it through the air, explaining something to their professor. 

Wow, he’s really whipped for Shotaro. It’s almost impressive, if it weren’t for the disastrous effect this has on Sungchan’s attention span and ability to focus. Shotaro has to nudge him several times when the lesson is over, and Sungchan trips on the stairs up to Ravenclaw tower three times. By the time they're entering their shared room, Shotaro is eyeing him worriedly, hovering around him as if Sungchan is going to collapse at any second. Maybe he is. 

"Are you sure you're alright, Sungchannie?" Shotaro is watching him from his side of the room, but Sungchan knows that the older boy was planning to meet up with the 00 line this afternoon. 

"I'll be fine, Taro-Hyung," Sungchan waves his concern away. "I'm probably just tired. I'll take a nap while you're out and be right as rain by supper." He sets his bag down on his desk chair and then lets himself fall onto his bed, toeing off his shoes. 

Shotaro doesn't look super convinced, but he leaves anyway with a promise to fetch Sungchan before suppertime. Before he goes, he casts a quiet  _ Nox _ towards the ceiling light and closes the blinds, darkening the room so that Sungchan can sleep. 

When he's gone, Sungchan lets himself squeal over how kind and thoughtful his Taro-Hyung is. Just the thought of him taking care of Sungchan is enough to warm Sungchan's chest and he smiles, letting himself fall into a restful sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello children tis me again. I finished the outline for this fic. Hope you've been enjoying, next part should be out soon-ish.
> 
> It's like way too early to be thinking about even more fic ideas but here I am: how would y'all feel about a partner fic to this one that is from Shotaro's point of view? Obvi would write once I'm done with this one. Lemme know if ur interested ok byeee


	3. pines over taro in their room

That evening Sungchan opens his eyes to see the room bathed in orange light. Shotaro is bending over the bed, leaning down to shake him awake. From where Sungchan is positioned, the setting sun makes it look like Shotaro has a halo. He glows, his light brown hair turning golden like this, lit from the back by the sun. He looks like a demigod. 

“Sungchannie? It’s almost suppertime,” Shotaro says softly down at Sungchan as he blinks and rubs his eyes, trying to focus. 

“Hyung?” Sungchan pulls himself into a more upright position, propping himself up against the head of his bed. Beside him, Shotaro is smiling fondly, and he reaches out to fix Sungchan’s hair. 

“You get such big bedhead, Sungchannie,” he says as his fingers, lithe and nimble, comb through Sungchan’s hair and coax the strands back into place. 

Sungchan lets his eyes fall closed, leaning into gentle touch. He’s by no means touch-starved, in a friend group with people like Haechan and Jaemin who act like human-shaped golden retrievers when it comes to touch. Still, something about the way Shotaro touches him has him craving more, more, more. 

They sit there, basking in the comfortable silence. Outside of their room is the loud sounds of too many people walking through the dorms and talking to each other, but in this space, in  _ their _ space, this little bubble that they have built, everything is still and peaceful. Sungchan’s head grows warm where Shotaro is still holding him. Time seems to crawl to a stop. 

Someone bangs into their door, shattering the moment. “Sorry!” they call out through the wood, and their footsteps retreat down the hallway. 

Inside their room, Shotaro smiles a bit sheepishly at Sungchan, withdrawing his hand from where it had been cradling Sungchan’s head. “We should probably head down, dinner is supposed to start soon.”

Sungchan nods his head as if in a daze, and then shakes it to clear it. Meanwhile, Shotaro gathers up his bag, dumping some of the stuff out onto his desk. Sungchan looks over to where his own bag rests, still on the desk chair where he had left it, and frowns at it. He’ll take care of that later, it’s not like he has any homework due tomorrow anyway, it’s Friday. 

Shotaro has evidently finished getting ready, and is now standing by the door waiting for him. He smiles when he sees Sungchan looking at him, and just-- wow. He’s so beautiful it takes Sungchan’s breath away. He looks like he should be in magazines, or on a stage, but instead he’s here, with Sungchan. In Sungchan’s room (okay technically it’s both of theirs,  _ their  _ room, and wow he’s really still sharing a room with this angel), looking at him with that soft look in his eyes, and Sungchan falls for him for the umpteenth time in this moment. 

“Sungchannie, ready to go? Are you still tired?”

Sungchan feels himself flush in embarrassment. His distracted state must be really obvious if Shotaro still thinks he’s sick. “I’m fine, Taro-hyung. Let’s go.” 

Shotaro is easily distracted, his worry all but gone from his face, and once Sungchan is finished locking their room door behind them he loops his arm through Sungchan’s. Sungchan is totally not internally screaming the entire way to the Great Hall, and he misses Shotaro’s warmth when the older boy unhooks their arms to sit down. 

Their usual spot is a lot emptier than usual, and Sungchan does a quick mental headcount. “Where is everyone?”

Shotaro smiles, gesturing for Sungchan to take a seat next to him. “I left early, they’re probably still by the lake. Had to come get you, Sungchannie.”

Sungchan frowns. “You didn’t have to, Taro-hyung, I don’t mind if you want to spend more time with the 00-line-”

Shotaro gives him a disapproving look, but it mainly looks like this one picture of an angry-looking puppy that Sungchan had seen online once. “Sungchan, I promised I’d wake you up. You would’ve done the exact same thing for me, so shut up.” 

Sungchan can’t really argue with that, so he listens to Shotaro and shuts up, slumping in his chair so he can pretend he’s closer in height to Shotaro. In front of him, there is the loud banging sound of someone setting down their bag heavily and then Chenle and Jisung slide into their seats. 

“You’re literally an idiot, Jisung. Honestly, you wouldn’t even be able to function without me. Am I wrong?”

“It wasn’t my fault! I literally remember checking it, I swear I did!”

Chenle scoffs loudly and then turns to Sungchan and Shotaro. He’s the only one of their friends that’s the same age as Sungchan, both born in 2001, but he tends to stick with Jisung pretty closely so Sungchan doesn’t hang out with him that much one-on-one. Jisung is technically 02-line but he’s in their grade (“My parents thought I was smart and I was too young to tell them I didn’t want to skip kindergarten,” he explained when Sungchan had first met him) and he doesn't use honorifics with Chenle. 

“Do you guys want to hear what this absolute moron did today?” Chenle asks them, as Jisung slumps next to him and pouts. 

“It wasn’t my fault,” Jisung protests weakly, but Shotaro is already nodding his head eagerly and Chenle launches into a theatrical retelling of how Jisung put an opened inkwell into his bag and ruined all of his textbooks. 

“He didn’t even notice until I asked him about the stain on the bottom of his bag! This oblivious idiot,” Chenle scoffs, flicking Jisung on the forehead. 

“In my defense-” Jisung holds up a hand, pausing. They wait for him to speak. “How was your day, Shotaro-hyung?” 

Chenle cackles loudly and shakes Jisung by the shoulders. “You have no defense, dumbass!” Shotaro shakes his head at their antics but begins answering Jisung’s question, and Sungchan tunes out momentarily to scan the hall for the rest of their group. 

Across the Great Hall, he sees the familiar sight of Jaemin’s bright pink hair, and right next to him is Jeno. He raises a hand, about to call them over, but stops suddenly. Are they-- fighting?

Sungchan can’t make out any words, but he sees Jaemin wrench his hand violently away from Jeno’s grip. Jeno shouts something, and then Jaemin storms away from him, directly towards Sungchan. Jeno trails after him, obviously still angry but not wanting to confront the angry boy again. 

Jaemin sits down on Sungchan’s other side, and pointedly puts his bag where Jeno usually sits by his side. Jeno, still glaring, rounds the table and seats himself gingerly next to Jisung, who gives him a startled look but scoots closer to Chenle to accommodate him. 

“Guys, did you hear what Jisung did?” Chenle asks, rounding on them excitedly before noticing the tense atmosphere. “Whoa, what crawled up your guys’s asses?”

Jisung smacks him for the foul language, Chenle shoves him back, and soon they are play-fighting like normal. Jaemin is staring at his plate like it’s killed his grandmother, and Jeno looks murderous. 

Sungchan leans to whisper in Shotaro’s ear. “Do you know what happened to them, hyung?”

Shotaro leans into him to whisper back “No, they seemed fine when I left. I’ve never seen Jeno this angry before.”

Shotaro’s breath is warm against his neck, and Sungchan suppresses a shudder. He tries to focus on his words, but with Shotaro so close he can clearly smell the boy’s distinct vanilla scent and instead of forming a response he just hums and nods noncommittally. 

A bit later, Renjun arrives with Haechan and Mark, completing their little group. Someday Mark or both Haechan and Mark leave them to go eat with the older members of HASA, but it looks like today is a full group day. Sungchan is relieved, and hopes that their presence will quell the awkwardness from having Jaemin and Jeno fighting. 

Alas, today is not Sungchan’s day. Renjun takes in Jeno’s unusual seating position at a glance, and then walks over to sit next to Shotaro. He strikes up a conversation with Chenle, who is across from him, in Chinese, effectively shutting out all the Korean (and Japanese) members of their group. Haechan and Mark are still in their own little world, and Sungchan braces himself for a long, awkward dinner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear children guess who is back with this fic instead of working on their main WIP which they started not one, not three, but two whole years ago this April. That's right, it's your bitch
> 
> I've been thinking about an Albus/Grindlewald fic for a while, what do you think? It'll be about why Dumbledore sees wool socks in the Mirror of Erised
> 
> ANyways thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated (feed my starving motivation) and stay safe/healthy <3


	4. taro starts glowing???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dude,” says Mark. Because of course he does. Is it even an NCT fanfic if Mark doesn't say dude?

The next day starts out unusually peaceful (although in the future, Sungchan will know it’s just the calm before the storm). He wakes up later than he has in years (minus summer break when he’s back at his parents’ house) to the morning light streaming through the half-opened curtains, and he stretches luxuriously. When he does this he can press his hands against the headboard and push out so far that his feet dangle off of the bed and he winces at the feeling of the cold polished wood on the back of his calves. 

The clock on his bedside table says it’s just past 11 in the morning. Thank goodness it’s Saturday or he would have missed like 3 classes by now. As it is he has already missed breakfast. 

Huh. He’s missed breakfast. That’s… strange, it feels wrong, he hasn’t missed breakfast at Hogwarts since that one time in 2nd Year when he was sick. He used to miss breakfast all the time in 1st Year, but that was before Shotaro started waking him up every morning. The older boy is adamant that Sungchan never miss a meal-

Sungchan leaps out of bed. Where is Shotaro? It’s so unlike him to not wake Sungchan up. Sungchan throws open the curtain of Shotaro’s four-poster bed and stares down at him. 

The poor boy looks awful, curled up into a small ball at the top of his bed with all of the covers bunched up at the bottom. His face is frozen in a grimace and his hair is stuck to his forehead with sweat. As Sungchan watches him anxiously for a sign of life the older boy shakes and mumbles to himself, and Sungchan breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Hey, Taro-hyung, wake up,” he says gently. He’s almost afraid to touch the boy for fear of hurting him somehow, but Shotaro doesn’t seem to hear Sungchan at all. Sungchan reaches out and shakes Shotaro’s shoulder. 

“Hmm?” Shotaro asks groggily, raising his head up from the pillow weakly. “W-what?” 

“Taro-hyung, oh my gods, are you alright? It’s almost lunchtime.”

Shotaro makes a weak, aborted motion towards Sungchan before collapsing back onto the bed. 

“Here, hyung, let me help you up.” It takes both of them but they manage to get Shotaro into an upright position and he slumps over himself, now sitting cross-legged on the bed. “I think you’re sick, Taro-hyung. We should go to the Hospital Wing, I’m sure Healer Yixing will know what’s wrong.”

Shotaro, still groggy, shakes his head. “No, I don’t wanna. Don't wanna go to the Hospital Wing…”

Sungchan frowns. He’s never seen Shotaro sick before, and while he is still extremely adorable his main priority is not how much Shotaro reminds him of a sleepy kitten like this. He needs to get Shotaro to the Hospital Wing, where hopefully the Head Healer will have something for him. 

Shotaro yawns and rubs his eye with one hand and wow, he really does look like a sleepy kitten, or maybe one of those cute sea otters that Sungchan had had a picture book of as a small child. He can’t help himself from reaching out and combing Shotaro’s hair away from his face, still damp with sweat. As he pets Shotaro’s hair into place, the older boy hums happily. His eyes close and turn up into his signature eye smile. 

Outside of their room, the dorm gets louder, footsteps and conversations filtering through the door. Sungchan checks the clock again and blinks in surprise to find that almost an hour has passed. 

Shotaro still looks out of it, and his forehead feels abnormally warm. “Hyung, we really do need to get you to the Hospital Wing. I’ll come with you.”

“It’s almost lunchtime, Sungchannie. Can’t we go after lunch? I’ll feel better after eating anyway.” Shotaro looks up at Sungchan with big puppy eyes and he can literally feel something in his chest melting. A nagging voice tells Sungchan to get Shotaro to the Hospital Wing as quickly as possible, that Shotaro’s never been this sick before that he can remember, but he pushes it away. 

Sungchan keeps a close eye on Shotaro as they walk to the Great Hall. The older boy leans on Sungchan more than usual and stumbles a couple of times on the stair as it moves. Shotaro recovers quickly with a bright smile aimed at Sungchan, but he can’t help worrying anyway. 

At the Great Hall, their table is once again barren. Jeno sits in his usual spot with his head on the table, and across from him Mark and Haechan alternate between eating and watching him worriedly. Jaemin, Renjun, Chenle, and Jisung are nowhere to be found. 

“Where is everyone?” Sungchan asks as they approach the table and sit down. 

Mark looks up to greet them. “Hi Sungchan, Shotaro. Chenle and Jisung are still asleep, I think. I’m not really sure where Renjun and Jaemin are though--”

“They’re at the Great Lake,” interrupts Jeno in a morose tone. Sungchan glances over to check on him, but he hasn’t moved yet, still facedown on the table. 

Sungchan exchanges a look with Mark. “Why are they at the Great Lake?” asks Mark cautiously. 

Jeno scoffs. “They’re having a _picnic.”_ He spits out the word like it’s poisonous, and Sungchan shoots another look at Mark. The older boy looks increasingly worried, but next to him Haechan ahhs in understanding.

“Ohhh, I thought it was something serious. Come on, man.” Haechan turns his attention to his food, shovelling chicken into his mouth. Next to Sungchan, Shotaro shrugs and does the same, and Sungchan can’t help but smile at him. 

Halfway through lunch, Chenle comes in with Jisung stumbling behind him. They both look like they just rolled out of bed but Jisung looks far worse, tie draped loosely around his neck and robes dishevelled. It’s a common sight for them on weekends because Jisung is a night owl and almost never wakes up before breakfast when he doesn’t have to. At the sound of the bench screeching as they take their seats, Jeno lifts his head for the first time that lunch in surprise. Haechan pouts as the chips he was balancing in his hair fall to the table and scatter, but something must be really wrong because instead of immediately threatening to strangle Haechan, Jeno just rests his head back onto the table with a weary sigh. 

Chenle is in the middle of retelling some outlandish story about how Jisung broke his favourite quill when the Great Hall seems to fall eerily quiet. It’s not completely silent, it never is, but it’s enough to make them all look around, wondering what the source of everyone’s silence is and oh. Oh shit. 

So Shotaro is glowing??? His skin is normally a golden colour but right now it looks gold, like literally golden light is emitting from his pores and just. Wow. He looks beautiful, and Sungchan kind of really wants to reach out and hug him but he’s spent so long stopping himself that he just sort of freezes and stares. 

Shotaro looks hot and he also looks sick, sicker than when they first came to the Great Hall. He’s taken a page from Jeno’s book and has laid his head onto the table facing Sungchan and his eyes are kind of shiny, almost like he’s about to cry. Sungchan berates himself for falling for Shotaro’s puppy eyes, they could be in the Hospital Wing by now. What if the glowing is just a precursor to some deadly curse manifesting or something? Who would even do such a thing, especially to Shotaro? Sungchan feels himself irrationally getting angry at this hypothetical Dark wizard and he tries to tamp the feeling down.

“Dude,” says Mark. “What’s happening? Are you like, okay?”

Sungchan looks over to Mark and in the process notices how everyone around them is just sort of staring at Shotaro intensely. And yeah, he’s glowing and all but they aren’t the normal curious stares like when weird things normally happen at Hogwarts. Instead, they look hungry, their eyes dazed and focused solely on Shotaro. 

Behind them, an older student lurches out of his seat and places a hand on Shotaro’s shoulder. “Hey, are you new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”

Shotaro sends a panicked glance to Sungchan, who springs into action immediately. “He’s sick, sorry,” Sungchan says to the stranger as he stands up and hauls Shotaro to his feet. The older boy sways unsettlingly, leaning into Sungchan's side as he helps him step over the bench and elbows away the stranger in the same motion. 

“Let’s get you to Healer Yixing, hyung.” Sungchan grabs both of their bags and slings them over his opposite shoulder. He’s never been more great for his height, shielding Shotaro from the eyes of the rest of the Great Hall as they hurry to the nearest door. 

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask), their friend group is very injury-prone, so Sungchan knows the way to the Hospital Wing by heart. He quickly navigates the hallways, supporting Shotaro’s weight as he pulls them both up the stairs. 

“My head hurts,” Shotaro whimpers as they near the hallway that leads to the Hospital Wing. He rests his head on Sungchan’s shoulder and it makes the younger boy’s heart skip a beat.

“I know, hyung, We’re almost there, come on.” 

Sungchan’s arm is aching now but they’re at the Hospital Wing now so he pulls on the last remains of his strength to shoulder the door open and then they’re finally there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello children. I have returned.
> 
> Don't mind me, just shoving my ult bias into fics where he doesn't belong for the sole purpose of self-fufillment. Please enjoy.
> 
> Also I didn't wanna make it like a sex thing because in this fic they're underage but I didn't know how else to write his allure coming in soooo,,, some liberties have been taken in terms of Veela canoness. ok byee thanks for reading (drop a kudo/comment if u enjoyed or wanna see a Shotaro pov fic accompaniment)


	5. pines over taro in hospital wing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im soft for them im so soft also i miss yixing also uhh stream Kick Back? Yeah

The moment they stumble into the Hospital Wing, Healer Yixing is upon them. “This way, bring him over here.” He coaxes Shotaro to sit on one of the beds and Sungchan helps him kick his shoes off. Beside them Healer Yixing hovers, casting diagnostic spells hurriedly. 

Sungchan settles down into the chair next to Shotaro’s bed as Yixing begins asking questions. “What happened? Has this happened before? Did any spell hit you prior to the incident?”

Shotaro looks like he’s on the verge of passing out, and blankly stares at his own arms. Sungchan notes that he isn’t glowing as brightly as he had been before. It doesn’t seem like Shotaro is in the right mindset to answer questions so Sungchan does his best to fill in for him. 

“He started glowing in the middle of lunch, sir. He looked kind of sick before that but I thought he just had a fever or something. We were going to come to the Hospital Wing after lunch but he started glowing and people started scaring him.”

Yixing frowns in thought. “Scaring him? How so?” 

“Like staring at him really weirdly. Do you think it’s a curse, Healer?”

Yixing waves his wand again, and then walks over to the counter to pull out a potion. He gives it to Shotaro with an encouraging nod. “This is just something to get your strength up. A mix of Nourishment potion with the added bonus of extra hydration. To answer your question Mr Jung, no. I don’t think it’s a curse, and I can’t detect any foreign magic on him as well.”

Sungchan breathes a sigh of relief. At least they wouldn’t have to deal with some Dark wizard hunting down Shotaro, or a bully tormenting him at Hogwarts. 

Next to him, Shotaro pipes up. “What do you think it is, Healer Yixing? It’s not serious, is it?”

Healer Yixing smiles reassuringly, shaking his head. “No, I don’t believe it is. Do you know if your family has any Creature blood, Mr Osaki?” 

Shotaro shakes his head. “I don’t think I have Creature blood, but I was adopted, Healer Yixing. I’m not sure if any of my birth family has it. Why?”

“Hmm, they’re usually required to disclose that when giving a child up for adoption. Interesting.” Yixing looks deep in thought and Sungchan and Shotaro exchange a worried glance. Creature blood? What is happening? This is more serious than Sungchan had thought. 

“Well, normally I’d keep him overnight, but it could just be a mutated Firefly virus…” Yixing mutters to himself. Shotaro looks more worried and scared by the second as the Healer rifles through the cupboard and a couple of drawers looking for something, although Sungchan isn’t sure what. He instinctively reaches out a hand to place on Shotaro’s and he takes it with a small smile, squeezing his hand gratefully. They sit in silence and wait for Healer Yixing to be done with whatever he’s doing. While they wait, Sungchan plays with Shotaro’s hand.

It’s tiny in his, the skin soft and plush. He has callouses on his fingers from holding his quill, and a small freckle on his middle finger knuckle. He’s tanner than Sungchan but not by much, the contrast subtle enough that he has to concentrate to tell the difference between them. 

He’s never held Shotaro’s hand, not like this. Usually, when their hands are connected it’s simply a practical matter, to keep together in a crowd or to make sure Shotaro doesn’t slip on the rocks near the Great Lake. But this, this is softer. It feels more intimate, like he’s holding something precious in his hands, like cradling a baby bird. Sungchan supposes that he is indeed holding something precious if he’s holding Shotaro’s hand. 

The tinkling sound of broken glass disrupts Sungchan’s moving, and Healer Yixing mutters something under his breath in what sounds like Mandarin. Shotaro tentatively calls out “Are you okay, Healer Yixing?”

The older man waves off their concern with a smile, deftly fixing the bottle that had dropped with a quick  _ Reparo. _ “I’m fine, this happens a lot. Probably more often than it should, in all honesty.” He chuckles to himself, a bit self-deprecatingly, before going back to his notes. 

Shotaro gives Sungchan an amused glance. They’ve always loved Healer Yixing, ever since their entire friend group crowded into the Hospital Wing when Haechan had fallen off his broom in Second Year and passed out on the grass of the Quidditch Pitch. It was the first of many hospital visits in the group, none of which were for Sungchan or Shotaro. Until now, Sungchan supposes. 

He checks on Shotaro but the older boy seems out of it, staring out one window vacantly. He’s stopped glowing almost completely by now but his hand is still warm in Sungchan’s, almost too warm. He gives it a quick squeeze almost instinctively, and Shotaro turns to him with a surprised smile. He squeezes back three times and Sungchan’s chest feels tight. 

Healer Yixing clears his throat softly and Sungchan turns to him quickly, almost feeling like he’s been caught doing something wrong even though he doesn’t know what. “I have some theories about what this is, but it isn’t anything life-threatening so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You can go back to your dorm tonight, Mr Osaki but please come back to the Hospital Wing tomorrow before lunch at the latest.”

Sungchan nods intently, already making a mental note to himself. They should really come before breakfast, Sungchan doesn’t want another repeat of this lunch. Maybe being around a lot of people at once had triggered the strange glowing? Best not to risk it.

Beside him, Shotaro makes to climb out of the hospital bed. Sungchan steadies him with a hand on his shoulder, helping him put his shoes on as the Healer continues to talk. 

“Also, before I forget, here’s this. Take it before you go to sleep tonight. I don't know if you’ll need it but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Don’t worry about doses, it’s premeasured so just take the whole bottle.” 

Healer Yixing hands Shotaro a small purple glass bottle. He takes it with a slight bow of thanks, holding it with both hands. 

“What’s it for?” Sungchan asks curiously. The liquid inside seems to sparkle and move on its own. 

“It’s a pain-killer. As I said, I don’t think you’ll need it, but better to be safe than sorry.” 

They both thank Healer Yixing profusely as they leave. Sungchan is still carrying both of their bags and he adjusts the straps where they’ve been digging into his shoulder. It catches Shotaro’s attention.

“Ah, Sungchannie, let me take my bag back. I forgot you were carrying it.” He tries to reach for his bag but he’s still carrying the potion Yixing gave him in both hands. Sungchan deftly steps out of his reach.

“It’s fine, Taro-hyung. Really, I can handle carrying two bags.” 

Shotaro pouts but doesn’t push the issue. As they continue down the hall, Shotaro remarks “You know, sometimes it feels like you’re the hyung, Sungchannie.”

Sungchan frowns in response. “Is that a bad thing? I just like taking care of you, Taro hyung.”

He waits for Shotaro’s response but the other boy is silent. When Sungchan looks over to check on him, his face is turned away from Sungchan and the sliver of it he can see is a slight pink. A few beats too late, Shotaro replies in a quiet murmur. “I like taking care of you too, Sungchan.” The rest of their walk is quiet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hoes, bitches, and others. This is now my most read fic. My Heart In Your Hands is crying in a corner. Just, sobbing wildly. You can go read her if you like exo stuff as well. 
> 
> Anyways the more magicky (aka me making things up) part is upon us so I hope you're enjoying! We're halfway through by now. thanks for reading!


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